What Is Progressivism? We will attempt to define progressivism. It is essential to know exactly what makes a person, a philosophy, or a company progressive. It does not sound that complicated. In terms of Progressive Politics, we think of progressives as people who are on the forefront, always trying new things and new mindsets. In truth, it is not quite that simple. Who decides what progress really is, anyway? Who’s to say that one thing is better than another? Obviously, the word progressive needs a much clearer and more compact description.

We have to do a brief overview of the history of progressivism in order to better
understand it. Progressivism in the United States came about at the end of the 19th
century, and gained significant traction around the beginning of the 20th century.
Historians point to President Theodore Roosevelt as an early proponent, as he
spearheaded the Progressive or ?Bull-Moose? political party in the early 1900′s.
This organization had the greatest success of any progressive movement in American
history. Other adherents included Robert La Folette, who was a governor and Senator
from Wisconsin.

The first progressives adhered to a three-pronged set of ideas. Among them were
Social and Political reform, elimination of the so-called ?Invisible Government,?
and Direct Democracy. Many ideas about progressivism in America are still prevalent in today’s social and political climates, including progressivism in education

In it’s most rudimentary form, progressivism means nothing more than the promotion
of change and forward thinking in government and via governmental authority. The
question is, what exactly is the force behind the change? Although this is a
timeless argument, perhaps the clearest way to depict it is like so:

You will see that each of the attributes in the two lists offset one another. For
example, Respectful vs. Self-Righteous, Inventive vs. Close-minded, and so on.

This is progressivism in its simplest form. Progressives are constantly searching
for ways to evolve positively, and implement new programs to better our lives,
assuming that they adhere to the descriptions above. At its core, progressivism
means change, whether it be repairing the damaged, standing up for those who cannot,
or demanding accountability in the government.

Consider some of the many government programs that are an afterthought for many of
us. More often than not, these programs were the work of progressives. We genuinely
hope that Americans for years to come will be able to look back and know that
progressivism addressed the challenging issues, and set forth plans to improve the
future… So What Is Progressivism ?